Shelter Me
by nakochan
Summary: A story between one of my original characters, Rera, and Jounounchi, about their friendship blossoming into something more. I wrote this years ago and stopped- it is questionable whether it will ever be finished. The chapters are very, very short.
1. Chapter 1: Memories

He leaned on the pole of the streetlight across from the restaurant, hidden in the dim shadows with his hands jammed into his pockets as usual. She was out again for the third time this week. Dammit, he'd told her about these guys time and time again. They'd rough her up someday. He just knew it. She was too petite and cute to keep hands off of.

He watched as her date playfully slapped her on her behind, causing her to jump slightly and narrow her eyes. Jou shook his head. He'd broken off a date with Mai tonight, for about the third time in two months, just to make sure Rera would be okay. He cringed as he recalled Mai's screeching voice over the phone. "Jou, this is the THIRD time you've done this to me. In TWO months?! You're not committing! I'm running out of patience with you! AND we were supposed to go to the jewelry expo tonight! I was hoping that MAYBE my caring, loving boyfriend would buy me something nice and sparkling, but NO, he has to run off and do LAUNDRY. That's the lamest excuse you've given me yet. " And she had slammed the phone down.

Jou looked absentmindedly up at the sky. Deep down, he knew, he didn't really care about Mai. She was pretty, yes. She had the nicest rack out of any girl he'd ever seen. But she was demanding, petty, spoiled, and everything else he couldn't stand in a girl. Not like the person he REALLY cared for…

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"Jou…nounchi? What a funny name."

She'd given him a sideways smile to show him she was just kidding. It was art hour, kindergarten, and seeing him all alone in the corner, she'd walked over and promptly asked him what he was drawing. He remembered how he'd flipped the paper over and spread his small hands over it, embarrassed to show her his drawing of a very lopsided Red Eyes Black Dragon. How her small chubby hand gently pulled at his fingers until he relented, miserably scrunching up his eyes, until she exclaimed, "It's a Red Eyes Black Dragon! You draw good," accompanied by what became her signature look, a sideways smile with her head slightly tilted to the side.

She was his friend after that. Every time she was bullied by the boys in class, Jou had been there to threaten them off. Whenever he'd gotten an elbow or knee scraped, she'd been there with a package of band-aids and a smile. As they grew older, she'd gone to all of his sports events, listened to him complain about home, and helped him out with homework. In turn, he'd gone to all her piano recitals, listened to her talk about her dreams, and threatened her boyfriends behind her back ("Listen, if you hurt her I'll beat your…"). In fact, by fourth grade she had started calling him "onii-chan" (big brother).

But Jou didn't feel like a big brother. He acted the role, but slowly, with every year he knew her, he was starting to feel more than that. He wanted to protect her from anything that could hurt her, because he couldn't bear to see her without her smile. He wanted to wrap him arms around her, and hold her, and feel like she was all his. Sometimes he had to fight down the urge to bash the boys that had crushes on her, knowing that he and Rera had a special connection that no one else could ever have. But even that wasn't enough. Not when she still seemed to think of him as the overprotective older sibling…


	2. Chapter 2: Behind Us

Jou pulled back from the memories and sighed. How was it that he, the tough guy, could be so vulnerable? She'd stolen his heart, just like that. But he had refused to accept it. No, no, no. She was his imouto-chan, his little sister, the same way Shizuka was. She would never think of him as anything more, ever…

But now, ten years later, he was still in denial. He'd known it, hadn't he? From the first time she'd hopped over asking to see his drawing, when he was shunned by everyone else in class. By the way her smile made the sun peek out from behind the clouds. By the tenderness she showed whenever she helped him bandage his injuries. By the way she talked whenever she was excited about something, eyes bright and energy shooting off in all directions. The gentle touch of her fingertips on his cheek or shoulder, whenever she teased him about something. Her voice on the phone, reassuring him that everything was okay. All the little unconscious things he never noticed until she was gone and he missed them.

That was how he'd ended up with Mai, a pretty but rather airheaded blonde. He thought of the mornings he woke up next to her in bed at her luxurious penthouse, having absolutely no idea of what happened the night before. He never remembered sharing one single precious moment with her. She seemed all too shallow to remember that money and glitz wasn't everything. Jou knew it wasn't. He'd grown up on the street.

He'd shoved Rera away. Desperately, to try and stop from falling in love with her, he'd told her rather roughly that it was time they stopped being kids and grew up. It was time to make new friends, to stop calling each other stupid pet names, to each have their own life. He would never forget the way her eyes grew bigger with his every word, slowly filling up with tears that ran silver rivers down her cheeks. He'd almost stopped and told her the truth. He couldn't bear to see her cry, and felt like the worst bastard in the world to be the one making her cry. But he had to do it. For the sake of his heart, selfish as it sounded. She'd reached out one trembling hand to touch his cheek, and whispered, "Onii-chan…"

He had fled, running away down the hall, leaving his heart in shattered pieces behind him. Not onii-chan, not onii-chan, not onii-chan… he didn't want to hear that word again, ever…

Jou checked his watch and was surprised to find a few drops of bitter tears on it. Hastily wiping it on his shirt and rubbing his eyes furiously with his sleeve, he looked back at the restaurant. It was getting late, and over two hours had passed. She should have left by now. Had she left when he was off thinking about their past?

He sauntered casually across the street and walked quickly by the window, making a thorough check of the occupants as he did so. No Rera. He cursed himself for not watching her more closely, and jamming his hands back into his pockets again, started off in the direction of Mai's house.


	3. Chapter 3: Shattered

A startled black cat skittered across his path as he walked on, head down, not thinking of anything besides Mai, and bed, and getting rid of the gut-wrenching memories with the cheap price of orgasmic pleasure. This was all life was anymore. Empty. It wasn't the way it should've been, he told himself. But he'd made the choice to live without her…

Staring along at the pavement, he failed to see three figures carrying a struggling fourth one into a dark alley ahead. Their shadows weren't cast long enough for him to see anyone. He passed by the alley, still lost in his own thoughts.

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A flick of a lighter. An orange spot glowed in the darkness. In the dim light, she could see the cigarette lifted to his lips, and a lazy wisp of smoke steadily rising from the lighted end.

"So you wanted to play with the big boys, did ya?"

She felt the rough edges of the rope burning into her wrists. She struggled, but it was no use. The rope just bit deeper into her, keeping her tied to the wall. She looked up and down the dark alley. No one was around this late at night. At any rate, at least her mouth wasn't gagged.

"You sorry son of a bitch. Don't think I won't get back at you for this," she spat.

She didn't see it coming, but she felt it. The tingling burn across her cheek.

"Now, now, sweetheart, we don't want to have to wash your mouth out with soap, do we? Or how about we stuff something else into it?" There were guffaws of laughter from the two figures standing behind him.

She glared at him. Jou had been right. Just days ago, when he passed her by… "Rera, don't hang around with those guys. They're not the best kind of people to be around." She had jerked her arm away and continued walking. It hurt too much to even look at his thick, windblown blonde locks and the intense brown eyes. These guys weren't the type to take a girl out unless they wanted something from her. She should've listened to him in the first place. But hadn't he abandoned her in the first place? Why should she listen to him?

A hand reached out and unbuttoned the top three buttons from her blouse.

"Relax, honey. You ought to be in Playboy, ya know that? How 'bout we give you a trial photo shoot?"

She tried to kick him. "You sick bastard."

He grabbed her jaw and squeezed it upwards. She winced but looked at him with defiance in her eyes. "Baby, if you're gonna be difficult about this, we're gonna have to treat you a little more rough. We don't like doing it but it looks like you're asking for it." He pulled her forward and forced her to kiss him.

He let go and she spat in his face. "Fucking prick."

"Rera-chan, you know I don't get mad easy. And you've gotten to that point." He changed from his low, soft tone to a harsher, louder one. "Your game, boys."

The two figures behind him eagerly leapt forward, and the sound of ripping cloth filled Rera's ears. Then the blinding pain as the whips cut into everywhere she was exposed. She finally allowed herself to scream in agony as the pain intensified with every blow.

"Just a minute, boys."

The blows stopped. Rera could feel all the places stinging raw where she'd been cut. A blow under her eye smarted and she could feel the blood, like tears, slowly crawl down her cheek.

A finger lifted her chin. "So what do you say, are you gonna work for me?"

She stared at him with hatred in her eyes. "Never."

A finger snap, like a signal. And the pain started all over again. Even the ropes bounding her wrists together didn't matter anymore. They had been loosened. She slumped slowly down the wall, blows still raining on her.

"Jou-kun…" she whispered. His smile. His laugh. The way he used to protect her from guys like these. The idiotic way he jumped up and down and yelled, "Encore!" at her piano recitals. His soulful brown eyes that showed pain, because he never spoke about it. His cheerful voice over the phone, "Ne, Rera-chan! Wanna go out?" His strong arms that carried her to the nurse's office when she'd twisted her ankle. The look on his face when he told her they couldn't be friends anymore.

The tears mingled with the blood on her face. Her eyes started to close. The pain was too much to bear. Her lips moved without a sound. "Jou… why did you leave me? I need you…"


	4. Chapter 4: Snapshots

Jou twisted his key into the lock, struggled with it a few moments, and entered the dark hallway.

"Mai?"

No answer.

Louder. "Mai?"

Silence.

"Mai Kujaku! Where are you?"

He shrugged, threw his jacket across the couch, and went upstairs. Everything was there as usual. Mai's clothes hanging clean and perfect as the day they were made, in the closet. His sneakers thrown carelessly across the floor, alongside a pair of day-old socks. Her gilded comb and brush set, neatly lined up next to several bottles of nail polish and an expensive manicuring set. His deodorant lying on its side next to a framed picture of him and Mai, taken a few months earlier. He picked up the picture and studied it.

He was giving his usual stupidly amusing grin, one arm lightly around Mai, who was winking seductively at the camera. Yugi had taken that picture, when he, Anzu, Honda, Miho, Mai and Jou had gone on a picnic over the summer.

As if by natural reaction, he dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it, and took out thin piece of what seemed like paper. He turned it face up, and was looking at another picture of himself- only this time he was giving a genuine, frankly happy smile, and his arms were affectionately thrown around a girl's neck. And it wasn't Mai- it was Rera. She looked happy too, and was giving the camera her signature tilted-head smile. They were both squinting because Honda had taken the picture in nearly direct sunlight, that day they'd gone to the beach. Jou remembered Rera saying she loved the sound of waves crashing against the shore, the warm sand beneath her toes, the multi-colored glow of the sky before the sun slipped over the edge of the world.

He looked at the picture a long, long time. His heartache teetered on the edge of his eyelashes, threatening to splash over. "I miss you," he whispered into the stillness.

He looked around the room. Mai's things, his things. But it wasn't the way it should be. He and Mai didn't fit. Enough of this role-playing, this empty happiness, this fake life. Mechanically, he moved around the room, picking up all his belongings. He stuffed them back into the duffel bags he had used to bring them in. He scribbled a note for Mai, left it on the bed and was about to leave, when he caught sight of the picture of himself and Mai again. He carefully removed the picture, ripped the part with himself on it, out, and placed Mai's half back on the dresser-top, face down. "I'm sorry," he muttered, and resolutely walked out the front door.


	5. Chapter 5: Saved

It was still dark. Jou thought of his real, honest-to-goodness little sister, Shizuka, and decided she'd be generous enough to let him stay at her place for a while. He hadn't wanted to bring Shizuka to Mai's because it just didn't feel right. Instead, he'd rented out a neat little apartment for her where she could do as she liked, and he visited her every now and then.

Still, barging into her apartment in the middle of the night wasn't the greatest idea. He stopped at a payphone, and was about to dial her number when three figures caught his attention. They were hurrying out of a dark alley to a waiting limousine. One of the figures was oddly familiar-looking…

Jou crouched in the shadows of the phone booth and listened. "We really should have just screwed her while she was knocked out," one of the shadowy figures said. "Nah," another figure said, "it wouldn't have been fun. Would've been like screwing a dead body." There was snorting laughter at this, and the main figure amongst them, as he stepped into the limo, added, "It wouldn't have been worth my seed on a little bitch like her anyway." A ray of light caught on him as he closed the door. Jou froze. Kokorin! He was the guy Rera had been seeing, the same guy she'd gone out with tonight. Jou clenched his fists. Where was Rera-chan, then? As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, Jou darted into the alley, fearing the worst.

She was limp, covered in cuts and blood, and nearly naked. Jou fell to his knees beside her, amongst the remains of her shredded clothes, and gently slipping his arm behind her head, tried to wake her up. Her breathing was shallow and raspy. His vision grew blurry as he rocked her back and forth, murmuring, "Rera-chan… wake up. Please. Wake up. Don't give up on me now, darling. Open your eyes. I need you…"

A weak whisper. "Onii-chan…"

His head was bent, and she could feel his warm tears washing away the blood on her cold cheeks.

"Shhhh…"

Her frightened, swollen eyes looked up at him. "They didn't… they didn't… do… anything… with me… did… they?"

His pent-up grief was still running from his eyes. "No," he whispered, holding her closer, "no, but I'll make them pay for what they did to you. I'll make them regret every single moment…"

"I'm so cold… so cold… and I'm… glad… you came… onii… onii-chan…" She collapsed in his arms.

He stripped off his jacket and gently wrapped her in it. Then, scooping her up, he ran like the wind for Shizuka's.


	6. Chapter 6: Vigil

Jou watched anxiously as the doctor bent over the bed. Shizuka sat on the other side, looking half-frightened and half worried.

"She took some rather hard knocks, I can tell you that." The doctor peered into her eyes with a tiny flashlight. "Those cuts are nasty, I might have to sew up quite a few of them. But she'll be alright, with time. She must be traumatized psychologically with the whole ordeal, so be careful of her when she wakes up. Might act temporarily insane. Only thing is, what in the world happened to her?" The doctor gave Jou a hard, stern look.

Jou returned the steady gaze. "I didn't do it to her. Some punks did, and I found her in an alley in that condition."

The doctor shook his head. "Poor things. The ones that work such things for money… they get younger and younger all the time…"

Jou leapt to his feet, despite the warning look in Shizuka's eyes. "She's NOT a whore!" he yelled hoarsely, "It's my fault I didn't protect her, and she's not the type to do stupid things like that! You're a doc! No one told you to ask questions, just make her better!" He sat back down in his seat, hard, glaring at the doctor.

"Whoa, son, I didn't mean to offend you. I apologize. Now, make sure she sleeps as much as possible. The healing process will be faster if she doesn't move around too much. Make sure she eats when she wakes up, soup, or something nourishing and easy to digest. I've given your sister prescription medicine for her bruises and some of those cuts I'll fix up right now. She should pull through okay. If she develops a fever or any of the symptoms, call me right away. I'll come back tomorrow to check up on her."

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She seemed to sleep too much. She was still all day, except for a slight movement of her fingers or so. Jou watched her, waiting for her to completely wake up, so he could finally pour his heart out and hold her in his arms again. Shizuka, knowing her brother's emotional turmoil without being told, left him alone in Rera's room as much as possible. She only came in once or twice a day, to check on Rera and reapply the ointment to her cuts and bruises.

"She's going to be okay, aniki," Shizuka said softly, laying a hand on her brother's shoulder.

He started, awoken from a half-doze in his chair, and muttered, "Thanks. But I won't believe until she wakes up completely."

Shizuka placed a tray in front of him. "You need to eat. All this worrying isn't good for you, you know…"

He waved it away. "I don't want to eat anything. All I want is for her to open her eyes and smile again." He slumped down in his chair, eyes red and blood-shot, hair tousled and clothes disheveled. He knew he looked like a mess. He didn't care.

Shizuka put down the tray with a sigh. "How'd you get into this pack of trouble in the first place? After you got my eyes operated on… this apartment… and you and Rera… I thought you and Mai…?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Mai's gone. Out of my life, at least," he said. "I moved my stuff out of her house and left a note to say I was leaving." He pointed at the bags at the door. "There they are."

"You're welcome to stay, aniki… but doesn't she have a family… home, somewhere? I don't mind if she stays, I'm just wondering if her family might be worried." She gestured toward the sleeping form in the bed.

He looked out the window, frowning. "Just a dad. Her mom died a few years ago," he replied. His frown deepened as he recalled all the times he'd encountered her dad. A tall, muscular man with a harsh, rough voice that constantly ordered his only daughter around, with clothes smelling like cigarette smoke and often alcohol on his breath. "Get off the phone, you've been on it long enough, you little brat," and her hurried whisper, "Sorry, Jou, dad wants me off the phone now. I'll see you tomorrow." The few times he visited her little blue and white house two blocks away, and her father prowling around the living room, giving Jou harsh looks as he took long swigs of beer from a bottle. And that one time, when Jou helped her paint her room, and he noticed the black-and-blue bruises alongside red streaks on her arm and shoulder. She had said she'd fallen off the front porch because she was being careless, but he suspected her dad had given her a beating for coming home late the night before, from the movies with Jou. He'd cringed as he heard her soft, "I'm sorry dad, I didn't mean to come home so late," and his growling voice, "You little slut, have you been screwing around with that guy? I'll beat the living daylights out of you." "No, no, dad… we went out to the movies… please, dad, no, not the belt…"

Jou clenched his fists.

"- and I always thought he was the nicest guy." Shizuka looked at Jou and realized he hadn't heard a thing. Shaking her head, she picked up the tray and headed out of the room.

Jou moved over next to the bed. He was sleepy, so sleepy. But he wanted to be there when Rera woke up. He wanted to be the first thing she saw… but so sleepy…

He suddenly had a thought. He reached out the window and carefully broke off three roses: a bud, a half-blown, and a full blossom. Placing a kiss on each, he set them in a small glass vase on her beside table, so they'd be the first things she'd see.

Satisfied, he laid his head on the bedspread, and closed his eyes, faintly recalling her voice from sometime long ago… "My favorite flowers? Roses…"


	7. Chapter 7: Roses

There was something weighing down on her leg. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the sunlight dancing on the walls, and focused on a little glass vase in front of her. "Roses…" she murmured.

Where was she? Slowly, painfully, she turned her head and looked at whatever was on her leg. She drew her breath in sharply as she saw the tangled blonde bangs and the exhausted expression on his face. "Jou…"

She looked back at the roses, and smiled. Silly romantic, she said to herself. All the same, the sweetness brimmed up in her, like cream rising to the top of new milk. She reached out and pulled the bud from the vase and inhaled the faint, fragrant smell.

Settling back on her pillows, carefully so she wouldn't wake up Jou, she rested the flower on her nose and thought. Damn Kokorin, she thought. The bastard left me for dead. And damn my dad to the bottom of hell. I'll never go back and live in that house, ever. She closed her eyes, her father's words from last night echoing in her head…

"I've given Kokorin permission to use you as one of his girls. You'll make good money, you know. And you get 80% of the profit, plus whatever extras you get on the side. Kokorin's a generous pimp with his women. Imagine, some of those guys'll probably get you nice cars, or jewelry! I can retire from that job in the junkyard and give myself some vacation time. God knows I need it. I know I didn't have a pretty daughter for no reason." He had smiled, in a rather nasty way, and added, "He's waiting to take you out tonight, and from now on you'll stay in one of his houses. He's got lots of girls working for him, so you'll have plenty of company. You won't have to worry about your old dad. Just hand over some of your earnings couple of times a month, and I'll be alright."

She had listened to his announcement in complete shock. By the end of it her face was blushing scarlet with anger, and she had burst out, "How dare you! I'm not some whore to be rented out! I'll never do that! EVER!"

He had slapped her across the cheek. "Don't you dare raise your voice at me, you little brat. Be grateful you've been offered something like this. You've probably been screwing with that blonde guy you're seeing so much anyway."

She had turned to run to her room, blood running hot with fury through her veins. He had grabbed her wrist, twisted it back until she cringed with pain, and said through gritted teeth, "Now listen to me. Kokorin'll be here in half an hour. I want to see you wearing that new leather miniskirt I got you just for this occasion, and your high heeled boots and a nice blouse. You had better make a good impression on him. Unless you want me to take the belt to your behind." She looked at him with hate, but did as she was told. And all that had happened as a result…

"And you saved me." She opened her eyes and smiled fondly at the sleeping Jou. Her smile faded as she twirled the stem of the rosebud between her fingers. "But you're just being the onii-chan you were ever since we were little. Protecting me, your imouto-chan. And you're happy with Mai. I don't understand you, after you said we couldn't be friends anymore," she sighed. Well, she thought, since I can't kiss you, much as I want to… she kissed the rosebud and gently ran it across his lips.


	8. Chapter 8: Losing Faith

Jou stirred. He was starting to wake up. No, no, he thought. He'd been dreaming about hugging Rera, feeling her love him as much as he loved her. Her soft lips against his. He struggled to hang onto the wisps of the dream remaining, but they too slipped away, and he opened his eyes.

To hell with the dream, he thought. This was better than any dream. She was awake, and gave him a ghost of a smile. "Onii-chan," she said simply.

His shoulders jerked as if he'd been stabbed in the back. He came closer to her, and unconsciously slipping his hands over hers, said desperately, "Listen, Rera-chan, don't call me onii-"

Shizuka burst into the room, holding medicine and food. Her eyes brightened. "Rera! You're awake!" she exclaimed, nearly dropping her load in delight and surprise.

Jou sprang back from Rera as if he'd touched hot metal. Damn, he'd nearly given himself away, he thought. Thank goodness for bothersome little sisters. He got up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and said casually, "Well, I'm going out. Glad that you're alright… imouto-chan." He winced at his own words, and hurried towards the door.

"Wait, Jou…"

He stopped short, heart hammering in his chest. "Yeah?"

"I… I…"

He started to turn around, despite his resolve not to. Just one more look. If only she'd say what he'd been imagining for so long.

"I… arigatou, for saving me!" She turned her face away from him.

He turned around again, muttered "You're welcome" rather bitterly, and disappeared out the door.

She listened to the door close. I can't tell you, she thought. I can't… you don't feel the same way…

She lay in bed and stared at the roses on the bedside table for the rest of the day, remembering a conversation from a sunny day in the past. "Rera-chan… what kind of flowers do you like best?" "My favorite flowers? Roses…" "Really? I'll get you some someday when you're not feeling at your best." "Can I bet on that?" "Don't bet. You can depend on it…"


End file.
